Using & Washing Cloth Nappies

It is important you store your nappies correctly if you want to use them for future babies. If you store them where there are large extremes of temperature or a damp atmosphere this can lead to degrading and damage of the PUL, elastics and fabrics. Here is our guide to keeping them in the best condition as possible.

Using real nappies is not hard, just different from using disposables. You need to bear in mind that a "cloth nappy" will usually comprise of a number of parts; the nappy itself provides the absorbency, whilst the outer wrap (pant) provides the waterproof layer. On some nappies, this may be a single combined "all in one", like a disposable is.

The Real Nappy Association recommends washing nappies at 60 degrees to sterilise them thoroughly. However, like it or not, you and your family share your bugs with your baby, and so it is not necessary to sterilise nappies in this way every wash, and a 40 degree wash is perfectly adequate for the most part.

It is VERY important that you prewash your nappies before you use them. If you don't prewash them, they will not be absorbent enough and they will leak. We recommend that you prewash them twice before use. This can be done at 30/40 degrees centigrade and you only need a tiny bit of detergent. There is no need to dry the nappies in between the two prewashes.

A real nappy's reliability in holding urine depends on its overall absorbency. A first point to bear in mind, therefore, is the less absorbent the nappy, the sooner you are likely to need to change it. As nappies become more absorbent with use, this is why you should prewash new nappies at least once before using them for the first time. It is worth investing in the best real nappy you can afford, for its superior absorbency and durability.

As with everything else to do with real nappies, there are no rules on what sort of nappy bucket to use, or how to use it. Essentially, however, a nappy bucket is simply a bucket with a fitted lid. You can either buy one designed for the purpose, or you can get hold of one of those lidded bins in a hardware store where the lid is held on by clip handles.

Soap is primarily made of fat, animal fat, or vegetable oil (e.g. olive soap) and sodium hydroxide. This explains why soap is alkaline and not great for sensitive skin. (You see, we do beauty tips free of charge here as well!). It can leave a film that can affect absorbency. But the main factor seems to be hard/soft water. Hard water will leave a "fatty scum" on the fibres, no matter how much you rinse, and that will affect absorbency.

I've put together a help video which shows you how to care for and wash your pocket nappies, including Bumgenius, Fuzzibunz, and Charlie Banana. It's a really straight forward process, but if you're unsure of what to do then I hope this video and guide can help point you in the right direction.

You only need to wash your wool wraps when they get dirty with faeces, or if they seem a bit smelly. This should only be about every other week or so, more frequently with a newborn, since they are more likely to get faeces on the wrap. Wool wraps are best washed by hand in plain white vegetable or olive soap.